National statistics

Removals and voluntary departures

Published 26 November 2015

Valid: 26 November 2015 to 24 February 2016

Data below relate to the year ending September 2015 and all comparisons are with the year ending September 2014, unless indicated otherwise.

Back to ‘Immigration statistics July to September 2015’ content page.

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1. Key facts

Enforced removals from the UK decreased by 3% to 12,275 in the year ending September 2015 compared with the previous year (12,627). This is the lowest level since the series began in 2004.

The number of passengers refused entry at port and who subsequently departed has increased by 9% in the year ending September 2015, to 16,575 from 15,276 for the previous year. While the figure is lower than that in 2004 (36,167), the number refused entry at port and subsequently departing has been increasing slowly since 2012.

In the year ending September 2015, provisional data show that 5,591 foreign national offenders (FNOs) were removed from the UK, using enforcement powers or via deportation. This was a 9% increase on the previous year (5,145) and the highest number since the series began in 2009.

2. Removals and voluntary departures by type

Year	Total enforced removals	Total refused entry at port and subsequently departed	Total voluntary departures (1)	Assisted Voluntary Returns (2)	Notified voluntary departures (3)	Other confirmed voluntary departures (1)(4)	Other confirmed voluntary departures as a % of voluntary departures
Year ending September 2011	14,786	16,118	24,925	3,004	6,906	15,015	60%
Year ending September 2012	14,985	13,871	29,750	3,701	7,464	18,585	62%
Year ending September 2013	13,732	14,346	31,647	4,164	7,212	20,271	64%
Year ending September 2014	12,627	15,276	29,322	3,084	10,171	16,067	55%
Year ending September 2015	12,275	16,575	25,496	1,617	12,992	10,887	43%
Change: latest 12 months	-352	+1,299
Percentage change	-3%	+9%

Table notes

Source: Home Office, Immigration Statistics July to September 2015, Removals table rv 01 q.
(1) The figures for total voluntary departures and confirmed voluntary departures for the latest periods are particularly subject to upward revision as matching checks are made on travellers after departure (see the section ‘About the figures’), so care should be taken when interpreting these figures.
(2) Assisted Voluntary Return: where financial assistance is provided.
(3) Notified voluntary departures: where a person notifies the Home Office that they have departed. This includes those removed from detention facilities.
(4) Other confirmed voluntary departures: where a person has been identified as leaving when they no longer had the right to remain in the UK, either as a result of embarkation controls or by subsequent data-matching on Home Office systems. Embarkation controls (where immigration officers interview departing foreign nationals to establish their immigration status and confirm the person’s embarkation) ceased from June 2014.
(5) Comparisons with the previous 12 months for voluntary departures have not been included here due to the retrospective nature of data-matching exercises. These figures will be subject to upward revision in future releases.

The number of people refused entry at port and subsequently departed is considerably lower in recent years than at the beginning of the data series in 2004. There was a sharp decrease from 31,859 in the year ending June 2009 to 13,871 in the year ending September 2012. There is no single cause identified for this fall, although a fifth (21%) of the decrease was due to a fall in the number of nationals of Afghanistan being refused entry and subsequently removed (-3,720). The overall falls are likely to be due to a combination of factors, including tighter screening of passengers prior to travel and changes in visa processes and regimes; for example, South African nationals have been required to have a visa for any length or type of visit to the UK since July 2009.

In the year ending September 2015, there were 25,496 voluntary departures. This category has represented the largest proportion of those departing from the UK since the end of 2009.

The number of voluntary departures had been growing for most of the past decade until the year ending March 2014. This coincides with the Home Office improving its contact management with migrants and its ability to track those that are leaving the UK. The figures include individuals who have been identified by administrative exercises as those who have overstayed their leave, and then subsequently left the UK without informing the Home Office. This identification process allows the Home Office to focus better its resources on those who remain in the UK. The figures since the year ending June 2014 have shown a steep decline. However, due to the retrospective nature of data-matching exercises, the data on voluntary departures are particularly subject to upward revision as additional checks are made on travellers after departure.

Of the 25,496 voluntary departures in the year ending September 2015, 51% of those departing were categorised as notified voluntary departures, 43% as other confirmed voluntary departures and 6% as Assisted Voluntary Returns (AVRs).

3. Long-term trends in removals and voluntary departures by type, by rolling year

Chart notes

Source: Home Office, Immigration Statistics July to September 2015, Removals table rv 01 q.

4. Asylum and non-asylum enforced removals

In the year ending September 2015, there were 3,646 enforced removals of people who had previously sought asylum, down 17% from the previous year (4,399). This figure is 69% lower than the peak in 2004 (11,743) when this data series began. This long-term decrease in the enforced removal of those who had sought asylum reflects the lower number of asylum applications since 2002.

In the year ending September 2015, 70% of total enforced removals were non-asylum cases (8,629), up from the previous year (8,228) but down from the peak of 10,070 in 2008.

5. Removals and voluntary departures by nationality

The highest number of enforced removals in the year ending September 2015 was for Pakistani nationals (1,447; 12% of the total), who have also shown the largest decrease compared with the previous year (-377 or -21%). The second highest was for Albanian nationals (1,146; 9% of the total).

The highest number of passengers refused entry at port and subsequently departed was for United States nationals (1,885; 11% of the total), who have also shown the largest decrease compared with the previous year (-120 or -6%) . The second and third highest numbers were for Albanian (1,375; 8% of the total) and Brazilian (836; 5% of the total) nationals. The largest increase compared with the previous year was for Albanian nationals (299 or 28%). United States and Brazilian nationals who are not coming to the UK for work or for 6 months or more do not need to apply for, and be issued with, a visa prior to arrival. The first time that they can be refused entry will therefore be on arrival in the UK.

The highest number of voluntary departures in the year ending September 2015 was for Indian nationals (6,042; 24% of the total), who have also shown the largest decrease compared with the previous year (-804 or -12%). The second largest decrease compared with year ending September 2014 is for Chinese nationals (-711 or -29%). The second highest number was for Pakistani nationals (3,640; 14% of the total).

For nationals of the European Union there were 22% more enforced removals (3,581) in the year ending September 2015 compared with the previous 12 months (2,929); nearly 40% more passengers refused entry at port and subsequently departed (1,701 compared to 1,224); and 38% more voluntary departures (589 compared to 428). Increases in the removals of EU nationals comprise the removal of more criminals and those not exercising Treaty Rights.

6. Departures by ‘harm’ assessment

The harm matrix was introduced in 2007 for monitoring the Public Service Agreement (PSA) that then was applied to measure performance in removing the most harmful people first. However, interest in this topic remains despite PSAs being abolished; ‘higher harm’ assessments include people who have committed serious criminal and immigration offences.

In the year ending September 2015, 12,275 enforced removals and 25,496 voluntary departures were subject to an assessment for a harm rating, of which 18% and 1% respectively were assessed as ‘highest harm’. This is compared to the previous year, when 15% of enforced removals and 1% of total voluntary departures were assessed as ‘highest harm’.

7. Foreign national offenders

The Home Office removes foreign national offenders (FNOs) using enforcement powers or via deportation. In the year ending September 2015, provisional data show that 5,591 FNOs were removed, a 9% increase on the previous year (5,145). This number has been steadily increasing since the year ending March 2012 (4,539) and is now the highest number since the series began in 2009.

8. Data tables:

Data referred to here can be found in the following tables:

Removals and voluntary departures vol. 1: tables rv 01 to rv 03 q.

The following tables are included in this volume:
rv 01 Removals and voluntary departures by type and asylum / non-asylum
rv 01q Removals and voluntary departures by type and asylum / non-asylum
rv 02 Removals and voluntary departures by type, asylum / non-asylum, age at departure date and sex
rv 03 Removals and voluntary departures by country of nationality and type
rv 03q Removals and voluntary departures by country of nationality and type

Removals and voluntary departures vol. 2: tables rv 04 to rv 04 q.

The following tables are included in this volume:
rv 04 Removals and voluntary departures by country of nationality, age and sex
rv 04 q Removals and voluntary departures by country of nationality, age and sex

Removals and voluntary departures vol. 3: tables rv 05 to rv 08 q.

The following tables are included in this volume:
rv 05 Removals and voluntary departures by country of nationality and destination
rv 05 q Removals and voluntary departures by country of nationality and destination
rv 06 Removals and voluntary departures by country of destination and type
rv 06 q Removals and voluntary departures by country of destination and type
rv 07 Removals of foreign national offenders
rv 08 Enforced removals and voluntary departures by harm assessment category
rv 08 q Enforced removals and voluntary departures by harm assessment category

9. Background information

The figures in this section relate to numbers of people, including dependants, leaving the UK either voluntarily when they no longer had a right to stay in the UK or where the Home Office has sought to remove them. While individuals removed at a port of entry have not necessarily entered the country, their removal requires action by the UK Border Force and Home Office, such as being placed on a return flight, and is therefore detailed above.

The numbers of people leaving the UK by the various types of departure (enforced removals; refused entry at port and subsequent departures; and voluntary departures) are given above. The voluntary departures figures for the latest period are provisional and rely upon retrospective data-matching exercises that result in future upward revisions.

9.1 Migration Transparency Data webpage

A range of key input and impact indicators are currently published by the Home Office on the Migration Transparency Data webpage.